BELLINGHAM - For families looking for a new playground for their kids to conquer, Waypoint Park is ready.
The fence around the playground was recently taken down, completing the last portion of the new park near the Granary Building on Bellingham’s waterfront. Children can climb around on logs and ropes and go down the slide. The park is also home to the acid ball and visitors can wander along the nearby paths, beach and rebuilt pier.
The playground’s design theme is a nod to nature-based play. Children can use their imagination to navigate their way around the irregular mounds and natural logs, said Gina Austin, project engineer for the city. The “log scramble” is designed to look like a log jam in a river or logs strewn on a beach.
“This play nook is much smaller than a typical playground and was designed as a secondary feature in this first phase of park development,” Austin said in an email, adding that larger playgrounds are planned for the next phase of the park.
Austin said a grand opening celebration will be announced soon.
The park is one of several projects happening as the city, Harcourt Developments and the Port of Bellingham work to redevelop the area. This includes a glass-and-steel structure being built near the Granary building by Harcourt for a potential fine dining restaurant; the construction of the waterfront district’s two main roads, Granary Avenue and West Laurel Street and a $32 million residential project west of Waypoint Park.
After years of cleanup and preparation, Bellingham is ready to open its new downtown waterfront park, called Waypoint Park.
Drone video shows the progress on Bellingham’s new waterfront park
Work continues in 2018 on a project to transform a former industrial site on Bellingham's downtown waterfront to residential and commercial use. An early highlight is Waypoint Park on Whatcom Waterway, which includes the refurbished acid ball.
The playground at Waypoint Park on the waterfront near downtown Bellingham features a slide and a simulated log jam.